Accounting Fraud Business Economic Analysis Expert Witness

Expert in hedge fund strategies, securities selection, portfolio management and other investment-related issues. He researched fraud and misrepresentation by publicly-traded companies as a short seller from 1989 through 2010. Cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ripple and other forms of cryptocurrency – are a new frontier in finance and a special focus.

Expert has provided investment consulting, investment research and expert witness services to investment funds and law firms at his own firm, Investment Strategy & Analysis, since 2004. From 2012 to 2017, he also provided investment consulting and expert witness services as part of Milliman, Inc., an international consulting firm with more than 3,000 employees worldwide.

Prior to 2004, Expert managed own Capital Management firm, a firm managing long/short equity hedge fund (2000-2002) and sub-advising a long-only portfolio for Davidson Investment Advisors (2001-2004), the investment management subsidiary of DA Davidson. He managed a long/short equity portfolio for Harvard University’s endowment (1994-1999) which generated an average unleveraged annual return on investment of 43% per year, increasing the portfolio from $110 million at December 1993 to $870 million at June 1999. Expert also worked as an equity analyst for Odyssey Partners (1991-1993), a $2 billion hedge fund managed by Jack Nash and Leon Levy, (co-founders of Oppenheimer & Co.) and Feshbach Brothers (1989-1991), a $1 billion short- only equity hedge fund.

His corporate industry experience includes working as a senior financial planning analyst at Cooper Industries (1987-1989), a Fortune 100 manufacturing company, and as a program manager/product engineer at Texas Instruments (1979-1985), a leading semiconductor manufacturing company.

Expert has been an adjunct professor of finance at Golden Gate University in San Francisco since 2006 and currently teaches Portfolio Management, the advanced investments course for the MBA program. He was the director of research at McCullough & Associates, a value equity manager, from 2010-2012. He has been a board member for the Federated Retirement System for the City of San José since 2010 where he works with staff on manager selection and investment strategy issues. From his roles as an Adjunct Professor and Investment Consultant he has proven his ability as a confident public speaker with the ability to convey technical concepts to diverse audiences.

Representative Litigation-Relevant Experience

Business Valuation Experience

• Fund of Hedge Funds – Prepared valuation analysis for fund of hedge funds under damaged and undamaged scenarios.
• Hedge Fund – Prepared valuation analysis of long/short equity hedge fund.
• Private business – As a corporate merger and acquisition analyst, prepared any discounted cash flow-based valuation analyses with and without synergies. Several businesses recommended were subsequently acquired.
• Publicly-traded businesses – As an institutional investor, prepared valuation analyses for hundreds of publicly-traded businesses and executed transactions in the public markets based on these valuations. Positions were up to $70 million in size.

Complex Damages Calculation Experience

• Calculated damages for options arbitrage hedge fund due to margin calls miscalculated by the prime broker, a top five international investment bank.
• Calculated damages for loss of option value of warrants issued by publicly-traded company which were not allowed to be exercised according to the contractual agreement.

Investment and Corporate Financial Fraud Experience

• Evaluated fund of hedge funds, which invested in a Ponzi Scheme, for inappropriate business practices: due diligence, accounting, anti-money laundering policy and client communications.
• Analyzed financial statements of corporation using bankruptcy and fraudulent conveyance (inappropriate expense allocation to fraudulently transfer assets) to avoid creditor’s claims.
• As an institutional investor, analyzed hundreds of publicly-traded corporations with accounting fraud or other misrepresentation for short selling and executed the resulting investment transactions.
• Defense expert for hedge fund criminal fraud cases, People vs. Glenn Jackson [Fund: Highland Capital Partners] (2013) and People vs. Chad Sloat [Fund: Black Diamond] (2012).

Testimony Experience

• Vigilant Investors, LLC vs. Goodin, MacBride, Squeri, Day & Lamprey, LLP (American Arbitration Association, January 2008)
• Luisa Li vs. Headwaters Holdings, LLC (American Arbitration Association, December 2015)

Education

• Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts
  Master in Business Administration, 1987. Ellis/LeBaron Fellowship recipient.
• Bemidji State University, Bemidji, Minnesota
  Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics, 1979, summa cum laude.

Other education:

• Yale University/Commonfund, New Haven, Connecticut Endowment Institute, Level II (2014)
• Bar Association of San Francisco, San Francisco, California Deposition Bootcamp (2009)
• McMillan Analysis, Burlingame, California Advanced Options Seminars (2005)
• International Trading Institute, Chicago, Illinois
  Trading & Pricing for the Professional Options Trader (2004)
• Market Compass, San Francisco, California Advanced Options Curriculum (2002)

Affiliations:

• Board member, Federated Retirement System for the City of San José Adjunct Professor of Finance, Golden Gate University
• Event Coordinator, CALAPRS Trustee Roundtable Member, Global Association of Risk Professionals Member, Gerson Lehrman Group Councils
• Member: Investment Industry Advisory Board, Zyme Solutions
• Advisory Board, Silicon Valley Venture – Private Equity Capital Roundtable Advisory Board, Commonfund Hedge FundDirect Strategies
• Advisory Board, Inferess, Inc. Advisory Board, HedgeSight

Investment Manager Selection:

• US Fixed Income Manager (2015)
  Client: San Francisco Zen Center Endowment Assets to be managed: $5 million
• International Equity Manager (2015)
  Client: San Francisco Zen Center Endowment Assets to be managed: $3 million
• US Small/Mid-Cap Equity Manager (2014) Client: San Francisco Zen Center Endowment Assets to be managed: $2 million
• Portable Alpha Manager for US Equity (2014)
  Client: Contra Costa County Employees’ Retirement Association Assets to be managed: $260 million
• US Small-Cap Value Equity Manager (2014) Client: Rabobank Retirement
  Assets to be managed: $8 million
• Private Equity Specialist Manager (2014)
  Client: Contra Costa County Employees’ Retirement Association Assets to be managed: $30 million
• Private Real Assets Manager (2013)
  Client: Contra Costa County Employees’ Retirement Association Assets to be managed: $140 million
• International Value Equity Manager (2013)
  Client: Contra Costa County Employees’ Retirement Association Assets to be managed: $304 million
• Unconstrained Fixed Income Manager (2013) Client: San Domenico School Endowment Assets to be managed: $50 million
• Private Equity Manager with focus on Small/Mid-Cap Companies (2013) Client: Contra Costa County Employees’ Retirement Association
  Assets to be managed: $50 million
• Public Real Assets Manager (2012)
  Client: Contra Costa County Employees’ Retirement Association Assets to be managed: $140 million

Asset Allocation Reports:

• Asset Allocation Report for City of Miami Beach Employees’ Retirement Plan (2017)
  Client: Miami Beach General Employees’ Retirement System Assets to be managed: $537 million
• Asset Allocation Report for Las Vegas Valley Water District Retirement Plan (2016)
  Client: Las Vegas Valley Water District Assets to be managed: $300 million
• Asset Allocation Report for City of Miami Beach Employees’ Retirement Plan (2013)
  Client: Miami Beach General Employees’ Retirement System Assets to be managed: $423 million